White-Robed Chief

Lu Yurong walked, her movements graceful. “Did something interesting happen during the latter half of the show?”

Chu Li smiled as he shook his head. “After Fa Xiang and Xing Ming left, another monk came from the Tempest Temple and passed down an antique study to King An.”

“Which antique study?”

“It’s the Golden Lohan’s Power. Have you heard of it?” Chu Li stared into her bright eyes.

Lu Yurong narrowed her eyes. “The Golden Lohan’s Power?”

“It seems that you’ve heard about it before,” said Chu Li.

Lu Yurong’s stare was imposing. “If it really is that technique, then the Tempest Temple is quite generous to actually pass it down to King An! Oh, it makes sense now. This technique requires a profound dharmic base to cultivate, so it’ll be good news to them should King An decided to study it!”

She understood the Tempest Temple’s intention at once.

Chu Li said, “It seems that the Golden Lohan’s Power is indeed an antique martial arts study.”

Lu Yurong said, “There’re many in this world who knows about the Sentient Menace but not about the Golden Lohan’s Power. Both of these antique studies are equally powerful.”

“Most of the Tempest Temple’s disciples I saw were cultivating the Sentience Menace.”

Lu Yurong said, “That’s not surprising. It’s easier to cultivate the Sentient Menace. The Golden Lohan’s Power is harder. One’s dharmic base level is extremely important to the cultivation of the Golden Lohan’s Power. The requirement for one’s comprehension is also too high.”

“Isn’t the Golden Lohan’s Power easier to cultivate?” asked Chu Li.

Lu Yurong shook her head. “I’ve never cultivated these two martial arts and have only heard about them before. Cultivating the Sentient Menace is like walking up a flight of stairs or hiking up a mountain. You take one step after another. You might be slow and find it difficult to cultivate at first, but you can always advance continuously… The Golden Lohan’s Power is different. At first, it’s a flat surface where you find you can walk very fast on. Then, you’ll be met with a tall flight of stairs. The stairs are ten times the height of the Sentient Menace’s. After you climbed up to the top of the stairs, there’ll be another flat surface, and then an even taller flight of stairs that is twenty times the height of the Sentient Menace’s. Both of these techniques end at the same altitude, but the way you advance is completely different.”

Chu Li nodded thoughtfully.

“It’s impossible to cultivate the Golden Lohan’s Power without the help of the dharmic base. No matter how well your aptitude is, it’ll still be fruitless. You can only advance to another stage when you study the dharmic base. The further you advance in your cultivation, the higher your dharmic base needs to be. There’re not many people in the Tempest Temple who are cultivating this. It seems that King An is going to become a Buddhist follower. How gratifying!” Lu Yurong said.

“Why is it gratifying?” Chu Li chuckled.

“If King An embraces the edification of the dharmic base, he might let go all of his hatred and even forgive you! Don’t you think that it’s worth celebrating?!” Lu Yurong said with a smile.

Chu Li glared at her.

Lu Yurong snickered delightfully.

Chu Li shook his head.

Lu Yurong continued to smile as she said, “Chu Li, you’re really unfortunate to have an enemy like King An. What luck you have! With King An’s luck though, he might be the one who succeeds the Emperor’s throne in the end. When that moment comes…”

Her smile grew even wider.

Chu Li flashed her a quick smile. “Miss Lu, look at how delighted you are! You look as if you would benefit if King An succeeded the Emperor’s throne!”

King An was both Chu Li and Lu Yurong’s rival. She was probably just a place behind him when it came to King An’s deadliest enemies.

Lu Yurong restrained herself from laughing. “As long as I’m hiding in the High Duke’s Public House, there’s nothing he can do to me! The Tempest Temple is truly relentless. You fell for their schemes too. Am I right?”

“Hmph, they’re not simple at all!” said Chu Li.

“What about now? Do you have any ideas?” Lu Yurong asked.

Chu Li heaved a sigh and shook his head. “I can only wait for another chance. I don’t have a good plan for now.”

“The only people you can exploit is someone from the Holy Church of Light,” said Lu Yurong.

She would often put herself in Chu Li’s shoes and think of how she would deal with his problems and take down King An.

After putting a lot of thought into it, she could not come up with any other idea. Only the Tempest Temple dared to kill King An, or perhaps some senior masters from the martial arts world. The only option left would be the Holy Church of Light.

The Tempest Temple did not fall for their schemes. They passed down an antique study to King An instead and managed to rope King An closer to the Tempest Temple. The Holy Church of Light is the only one left, but they seemed to have no intention to kill King An either.

In this case, Chu Li was now stuck in a predicament.

“The Holy Church of Light? I never planned to rely on them.” Chu Li said.

Great minds think alike, he shared the same opinion as Lu Yurong. The Holy Church of Light did not plan to assassinate King An. It could be that King An was perhaps not a threat to them at all in their eyes.

Both of them chattered along the way and arrived at the main hall.

King Jing was reading in the hall and wearing a purple robe. He saw them walking in and put his book down, giving them a small smile.

Chu Li made a fist salute. “Greetings, Your Royal Highness.”

“Come, sit down and talk to me for a bit. Then, I shall leave the two of you to yourselves.” King Jing gestured with his hand and smiled.

Chu Li acted as if he did not hear him.

Lu Yurong glared at King Jing and scoffed, “Uncle Jing!”

King Jing chuckled. “I heard that third older brother’s Martial Art was crippled?”

Lu Yurong let out a sigh. “Uncle Jing, the Tempest Temple passed down another technique to King An.”

“Oh?” King Jing’s expression darkened.

“His Highness King An’s Martial Art and self-cultivation improved by a lot. It was a lot of progress in one day!” Chu Li said.

“Then I really have to congratulate third older brother!” sneered King Jing.

A smile flickered across Chu Li’s face. “The Tempest Temple is very unpredictable in the way they do things. It’s almost impossible to stop them.”

“Doesn’t really matter.” King Jing nodded slowly. “I have invited you here to greet you in prior.”

“Do tell me your problems, Your Royal Highness,” said Chu Li.

‘King Jing was exactly who I heard he is. He managed to get a hold of his emotions in such a short time and kept his cool. His temperament was even better than King An’s.’ he exclaimed to himself.

“It’s about the Holy Church of Light,” King Jing said.

Chu Li nodded and continue to stare at him.

King Jing said, “The secret guardians of the imperial house will look into this case thoroughly. I’ll assign you over to assist them.”

Chu Li furrowed his brows immediately. “My assistance?”

King Jing let out a sigh. “Traitors had wormed their way into the Hunting Ceremony, and the secret guardians of the imperial house are not happy about it. The Hunting Ceremony is more or less connected with the imperial court’s dignity. If it weren’t for the Emperor who had got control of the situation, I’m afraid that chaos would erupt on every street, and the whole world would know about it.”

Chu Li nodded slowly.

The people who joined the Hunting Ceremony were all imperial crown princes. They were the kings’ sons and daughters, but the insiders managed to sneak in anyway. How can the Emperor’s children not worry and treat the secret guardians of the imperial house nicely after that?

“They hate you, but have no choice but to ask for your help… It’s very hard to gain control over some of the most crucial moments in this matter. You should be a little more careful.” King Jing’s tone was sincere, but what he said seemed to imply a different meaning.

“Your Royal Highness, please forgive me for being incompetent,” Chu Li said and shook his head. “But I can’t do anything to help you.”

King Jing frowned and said, “I was afraid you would say that. That’s why I’m telling you this in advance.”

Chu Li pretended as if he was all ears.

King Jing said, “The Emperor has already caught wind of this case. He’s very curious about you. That’s why the secret guardians of the imperial house can only look to you for help. If you don’t agree to it, then it’ll be going exactly the way they wanted it to go. They’ll judge you in front of the Emperor, and he’ll have a bad impression of your arrogant behavior.”

Chu Li nodded slowly.

Their strategy was indeed cunning. It would indeed be a deadly blow to anyone who aspired to become an official.

King Jing said, “So, it’ll be for the best if you don’t reject their request. At least try to entertain them a little.”

Lu Yurong furrowed her brows. “Uncle Jing, if he handles the case half-heartedly, the secret guardians of the imperial house will still judge him for having an average set of skills, and that he doesn’t live up to his reputation!”

King Jing heaved a sigh and shook his head. “This group of people is being increasingly arrogant. They can’t even handle a little bit of pressure. If that’s the case…”

He looked worried.

It was not a good thing to have the secret guardians of the imperial house acting so pompous.